Diffusion and Supersaturation in Gelatine

Abstract

The German photographer, R. Ed. Liesegang, in the course of a research on chemical reactions in gelatine,* discovered a phenomenon which Ostwald cites as evidence that there exists a definite limit beyond which, at a given temperature and pressure, the supersaturation of a solution cannot be carried. We have undertaken an experimental study of this subject by a method based on Liesegang's discovery. Liesegang's experiment was as follows : A glass plate was covered with gelatine impregnated with potassium enr?mate. The plate was laid hori zontal, and upon it a drop of silver nitrate was placed. The silver nitrate diffused